Biotech boosted at Invest Australia

Federal government agency Invest Australia's biotechnology team will quadruple in size after undergoing a major restructure to be completed July 1 this year.

Kelly Sims, from Invest Australia's strategies development coordination team, said that after the reorganisation, Invest Australia would have a full biotechnology team reporting directly to Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane.

"The biotechnology team will be much bigger," Sims said. "It's a major advantage for the industry."

Invest Australia promotes, facilitates and attracts investment into Australia, and the biotechnology team will specifically deal with the biotech industry perspective.

The restructure was triggered by the Blackburne Report of August 2001, which examined the Federal government's strategies to attract overseas investment in Australia.

The report recommended that all the efforts should be centralised into one agency, namely Invest Australia.

"Austrade and other groups that have a charter to attract investments into Australia will become a part of Invest Australia," Sims said.

The new Invest Australia agency will not be up and running until July 1, just after the Bio 2002 conference in Toronto, the major showcase for Australian biotech internationally.

The manager of the new biotechnology team will be hired from outside Invest Australia. Most of the team will be based in Canberra but it is still to be decided whether or not the manager will be Sydney-based.

The restructure follows the resignation of Kate Parker, Invest Australia's biotechnology specialist for the last two years.

Parker has taken a strategic role in a private sector company.